State Ed Building ready to reopen huge mural to visitors

Adolphe Yvon’s enormous mural “The Genius of America” is ready for its close-up after more than a decade under cover in the State Education Building’s Chancellors Hall auditorium.

The mural, a widescreen allegory on the nation’s centennial, was originally commissioned in a smaller version by pioneering retailer and Irish immigrant Alexander Stewart, who then requested a much larger version — 18 feet high, almost 30 feet long — to decorate his Manhattan mansion. After he discovered it wouldn’t fit on any of his walls (a Gilded Age One Percenter problem if I’ve ever heard one), Stewart dispatched it to the ballroom of his Grand Union Hotel in Saratoga Springs, which he intended to make the largest resort in the world.

When the hotel was torn down in 1952, the mural was donated to SED by the contractors who handled the demolition.

As chronicled in a column I wrote in early November, the mural was curtained off after complaints from African-Americans at the State Education Department who objected to the work’s depiction of slaves being freed from bondage by white figures.

The fate of the mural was discussed after the building’s centennial celebration last fall, when Chancellors Hall was put on display but the mural remained cloaked. Along with State Museum Executive Director Mark Schaming, Education Commissioner John King — who is African-American — took a look at the monumental work and decided it was not only worthy of display, but provided an excellent opportunity to discuss changes in culturally appropriate depictions of race.

James Jackson, a member of the Board of Regents and a former teacher and principal at Shaker High School, described the mural as “a collage of American history.”

“The only question I have about this kind of work is, what can we learn from it, and what can we learn about how we got from there to where we are today?,” said Jackson, who is African-American.

In the months since then, State Museum officials have done an exquisite job of providing print and online support materials about the mural. In addition to explanatory signage in Chancellors Hall, SED has printed up brochures explaining the mural’s history and Yvon’s dense-packed symbolism.

A new website devoted to the piece includes a GigaPan image that allows you to zoom in on any section.

“It’s certainly the kind of work of art that deserves explanation,” said Schaming, who called Yvon’s painting a “tour de force.” He praised the work of the museum’s designers and scholars: “This is a pretty big exhibit for one painting.”

Despite the demonstrated desire of the general public to explore the State Ed Building — the agency was overrun with requests for last fall’s set of centennial tours — getting in to see “The Genius of America” will still be something of a hassle. For now, the hall and the mural will be open to the general public from 1-2 p.m. on Wednesday, and from noon-1 p.m. the first Wednesday of every month.

SED officials promise additional tours will be announced in the spring.